Edina Hall

Fellow bunnies,

Nestled amongst all the books in my children’s room was the classic Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown (illustrations by Clement Hurd). It is the first in a trio of books that include Goodnight Moon and My World. The book opens with a little boy bunny telling his mother that he wants to run away. “If you run away,” says the mother, “I will run after you for you are my little bunny.”

The little bunny then proclaims that if he runs after him, he will become a fish and swim away. Undaunted, the mother says, “I will become a fisherman, and I will fish for you.”

Back and forth, they banter. When the bunny says he will become something to get away, the mother bunny has an answer about how she will find him. Finally, the mother bunny proposes that he run to a house where she will become a mother and “catch you in my arms and hug you,” to which the bunny agrees.

This seemingly simple tale can serve to remind us that we, like the runaway bunny, are loved—dare I say—pursued by God. We are reminded that no matter who we are, what we become, what happens to us, or where we might hide, we are simply and deeply loved by the Almighty.

Paul said it a bit more eloquently in his letter to the Romans in today’s readings:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height or depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

And, like a mother’s hug, I find that deeply, deeply comforting.

Running towards the embrace,

—Edina